Ukrainian forces struck two major energy facilities deep inside Russia overnight on 17–18 September, hitting the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat petrochemical complex in Bashkortostan and the Lukoil-operated Volgograd oil refinery.
Regional authorities in Bashkortostan reported a fire at the Salavat site following a “terrorist attack” by two aircraft-type drones; Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) separately said operations at the Volgograd refinery were halted after their strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Radiy Khabirov, head of Bashkortostan, wrote on Telegram that security at Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat opened fire on the drones and that emergency services were working to contain the blaze. He did not specify the scale of damage. The complex, one of Russia’s largest integrated oil refining and petrochemical plants, sits more than 1,300 kilometres from the front line. Open-source images circulating on Russian and regional channels showed thick smoke over industrial units; these visuals have not been independently verified.
Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat produces fuels and a wide range of chemical feedstocks, including ammonia, urea, ethylene and polyethylene, and operates refining, gas-chemical and monomer facilities on a single site. Company materials and industry profiles list extensive petrochemical outputs integrated with oil processing. The precise unit affected on 18 September has not been confirmed by officials.
In Volgograd, Ukrainian SSO stated that their forces conducted an overnight strike on the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka refinery and that, according to preliminary information, the plant’s operations were suspended. Russian authorities reported drone activity and explosions in the region but did not immediately detail the impact at the refinery. The site has been targeted multiple times since 2024 amid a wider campaign against Russian refining capacity.
The Volgograd refinery is among Russia’s larger plants. Reuters reported last month that it processed 13.7 million tonnes of crude in 2024—about 5% of national refinery throughput. The facility’s primary crude distillation unit (CDU-1) was damaged in a May 2024 drone attack and later restarted, illustrating recurring disruptions at the site over the past 18 months.
Ukrainian authorities and media have framed strikes on Russian oil infrastructure as intended to constrain Moscow’s war-fighting capacity and revenue. Kyiv-based outlets noted that the Volgograd plant supports Russian military needs and that deep-rear sites such as Salavat demonstrate Ukraine’s ability to reach targets over 1,300 kilometres from the front. Moscow has generally described such incidents as “terrorist attacks”, often claiming air defences intercepted incoming drones while subsequent fires were contained.
The Bashkortostan strike follows a series of attacks on energy facilities across Russia in 2024–25, including in Leningrad, Krasnodar and other regions. Earlier this week, reports indicated fires and short-term disruptions at sites in the Ufa area, also in Bashkortostan, after drone activity. While both sides have periodically signalled interest in limiting energy-infrastructure strikes, incidents have continued, with cumulative effects on refining throughput noted by industry trackers and media.
Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat’s product catalogue indicates the complex supplies motor fuels alongside petrochemical intermediates used across industrial chains. Any prolonged outage at stabilisation or primary distillation units would typically constrain both fuel output and downstream chemical production until repairs are completed. However, Russian officials did not confirm which processing units were affected on 18 September, and there was no immediate official estimate for the time needed to restore full operations.
Russia has faced intermittent fuel tightness and export curbs at various points this year, with analysts attributing pressure to seasonal demand, maintenance and repeated disruptions from drone strikes. The Volgograd facility’s prior shutdowns and restarts illustrate the sector’s efforts to manage capacity despite damage and security risks. Whether the latest incidents materially reduce national output will depend on the duration of stoppages and the ability to reroute crude and products within Russia’s refining network.
As of Thursday afternoon, Bashkortostan authorities continued fire-fighting and assessment at the Salavat complex. Ukrainian SSO maintained that the Volgograd refinery’s operations had been halted following the overnight strike. Neither Gazprom nor Lukoil had issued detailed public statements on damage or timelines for resuming normal operations. Further official updates from regional and company channels will clarify the scale and duration of the disruption.
